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Improving health care service delivery and outcomes

01 April 2025 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied

The Division of Public Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) together with the Central University of Technology (CUT), and the Free State Department of Health’s Disability Unit, held community engagements recently by visiting rehabilitation services in Bloemfontein.

These engagements were part of the co-funded project: Capacity building for the use of implementation science in various typologies in low- and middle-income countries for the prevention and/or management of the quadruple burden of disease. This was phase two in this project with the last phase including a symposium that is expected to take place on 1 April on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

Qhomane Mhlanga, a representative from the Free State Department of Health who is actively involved in this project, and her team, identified rehabilitation services for a case study. They also identified stakeholders to be visited during this community engagement in order to gather information on their engagement with Mangaung University of the Free State Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP). The team also visited stakeholders at the Phelang Disability Home, Carel du Toit Special School, and the Department of Education (Inclusive Education).

Research to improve health care service

Dr Phindile Shangase from the Division of Public Health, and Principal Investigator at UFS, says the purpose of community visits was to engage service providers on the implementation strategies. This includes analysing alignment of implementation strategies with the policy (National Rehabilitation Policy 2000, Free State Rehabilitation Policy Guidelines, Framework and Strategy for Disability and Rehabilitation Service in South Africa 2015-2020) as well as identifying facilitators and barriers to implementation.

“It is the intention of the Division of Public Health, UFS to continue collaborations with stakeholders in implementation science research to improve health care service delivery and outcomes. The Division of Public Health also intends to add postgraduate research studies on implementation science in the near future.

“The visit to the clinic sought to establish the services provided by the rehabilitation unit, the referral system, and how the unit collaborates with external stakeholders to enhance the service. We gained knowledge of categories of healthcare professionals in rehabilitation services, e.g., occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, audiologists, orthotists and prosthetists, rehabilitation doctors, optometrists, community rehabilitation workers. Some of these professionals are not available in the facilities visited,” says Dr Shangase.

It was identified that, she continues, early hearing screening services for children are not available at healthcare facilities. Early hearing screening helps identify hearing defects which could be managed early to avoid complications that lead to hampered education and poor quality of life.

Outcome of engagements

Before the community outreach began, the UFS/CUT team, in collaboration with the Department of Health, convened to discuss strategies for navigating the Implementation Science project. The meeting focused on identifying key stakeholders and developing approaches essential for the project's success, drawing insights from the Department of Health's Mangaung Metro implementation science case study.

The team identified five primary approaches for the project: Health, Education, Livelihood, Social, and Empowerment. Additionally, the discussion highlighted both the barriers and enablers related to each approach, which are crucial for ensuring effective project implementation and sustainable outcomes. Free State rehabilitation policy guidelines document was also applied to evaluate the case study.

According to Dr Shangase, the outreach will help with drafting of an intervention plan to address policy implementation gaps identified. The information gathered will assist in commissioning further research to improve health outcomes. “The intention is to collaborate with the Department of Health to work on past research outputs, presented during research day conferences, for implementation in healthcare facilities. Newly identified research areas will also prompt projects in healthcare facilities, led by the academic partners, UFS, Division of Public Health as well as the Department of Health Sciences, CUT.”

News Archive

UFS to get transformation plan for African context

2005-02-04

The University of the Free State is to draft a comprehensive Transformation Plan to give impetus to the process of making the UFS an inclusive, non-racial, non-sexist, multi-cultural and multi-lingual university within the African context.

Delivering a keynote speech at the Official Opening of the UFS today, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, said the Transformation Plan would include aspects such as employment equity, institutional culture, academic excellence, and other elements.

He added that another aspect to be considered in the academic element of the Transformation Plan was the issue of the African context, of a university for Africa, in Africa, of the African university.

According to Prof Fourie, the best way of understanding the role of the UFS in Africa and for Africa, is for the university to become a truly engaged university that bridges the gap between the institution and the community. He said the UFS had for more than 10 years been at the forefront of transformation in higher education, and had gone through several phases of transformation. However the UFS needed to embark on a new phase of transformation which would be guided by a comprehensive Transformation Plan.

The Transformation Plan would be the result of an inclusive consultation process involving staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders. It would also be based on a review of current policies and practices.
The process would be led by a Transformation Plan Team, co-ordinated by the Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, Prof Teuns Verschoor, and the Vice-Rector: Student Affairs, Dr Ezekiel Moraka.

“Obviously we should also not underestimate the complexities of transformation and of building a new society, given our complex history and the legacies of poverty, underdevelopment, colonialism and apartheid.

“We must consider support for staff involved in these transformation steps, including appropriate staff development, capacity to support transformation processes, as well as flexible and supportive administrative practices,” Prof Fourie said.

He said the UFS management understood the urgency of transformation in the current democratic South Africa and the changing global environment and appealed to staff and students to participate fully in drafting the Transformation Plan for the UFS.

“Transformation at the UFS has been and will continue to be a process with many facets that seek to enhance excellence in all spheres of university life, and is much more than merely ensuring employment equity,” he said.

Prof Fourie said: “We have reached a historic moment in the life of the UFS where innovative thinking and bold steps yet again are necessary because failure is not an option.”

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 February 2005

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